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      Only Erling Haaland has earned more Dream Team points than Ollie Watkins among forwards since Game Week 21

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      THE job Unai Emery has done at Aston Villa really can’t be underestimated.When Steven Gerrard was dismissed back in October, the club were 17th in the Premier League – they’re now sixth.
      The ex-Villarreal coach has improved the Villains from back to front but his biggest success story has to be the reinvention of Ollie Watkins (£6.1m).
      Previously deployed on the right wing or as one half of a strike partnership, the 27-year-old is now leading the line solo, as he did successfully at Brentford, with immense results.
      A man in the form of his life
      And Watkins produced his best performance of the campaign this past Saturday when he dismantled a usually resolute Newcastle defence.
      Eddie Howe’s side have conceded the fewest goals in the top flight this season but Fabian Schar (£3.8m) and Sven Botman (£3.1m) were run ragged by Villa’s No11, who assisted the hosts opener before scoring two of his own in a 3-0 win.
      It wasn’t just the direct goal contributions that reflected well on Watkins but the nature of his overall performance too.
      His knock down for Jacob Ramsey (£2.3m) was high class and his penetrating runs in behind Newcastle’s back four made him a persistent threat as the visitors wilted in the Midlands.
      Naturally, Watkins claimed the Star Man award for his masterclass and with it, 20 Dream Team points, his biggest single-game haul of 2022/23.
      He’s also the joint-best performer of Game Week 30 so far, level with Diogo Jota (£3.9m) who took Leeds for 20 points on Monday night.
      Most read in Football
      Only a tight offside call denied Watkins a hat-trickCredit: GETTY
      Watkins has been one of the league’s most in-form players since the mid-season break for the World Cup in Qatar, as best evidenced by his Dream Team returns.
      In fact, only Erling Haaland has produced more points among forwards across the last nine Game Weeks.
      DREAM TEAM POINTS SINCE GAME WEEK 21:

      Erling Haaland – 128
      OLLIE WATKINS – 95
      Marcus Rashford – 84
      Gabriel Martinelli – 81
      Mohamed Salah – 76
      Harry Kane – 64

      These numbers are particularly impressive considering Villa have not had additional European fixtures to bolster their schedule.
      That seems likely to change next season though as Emery’s men look set to qualify for either the Europa League or the Europa Conference League.
      Dream Team bosses should focus on the task in hand but it’s difficult not to think about Watkins’ starting price for 2023/24 already.
      Emery is doing a fantastic job at Villa
      The ex-Brentford striker has scored 15 goals and provided seven assists in all competitions this season with 11 of those goals coming in his last 12 games!
      At the time of writing, he appears in just 2.5% of teams and that wise minority of gaffers will be hopeful of more points in Game Week 31 when Watkins takes on Brentford and Fulham, two teams increasingly “on the beach”. More

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      Eberechi Eze has banked 33 Dream Team points in three games under Roy Hodgson – midfielder appears in 0.7% of teams

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      DREAM TEAM managers should always expect the unexpected.When news broke of Roy Hodgson’s return to Crystal Palace following Patrick Vieira’s dismissal, few would have predicted that the Eagles would be instantly transformed into one of the most dynamic attacking teams in the Premier League.
      But that’s exactly what has happened.
      An unlikely friendship but one blossoming nonetheless
      The 75-year-old tactician has a wealth of knowledge but his managerial tenures at the back end of his career have generally been defined by pragmatism.
      Even the most optimistic season ticket holders at Selhurst Park would merely have shrugged and declared: “Well, it might not be pretty but Roy will probably get the job.”
      Not only is the ex-England coach getting the job done with three consecutive victories having all but saved the south Londoners from relegation already, the football is no less than beautiful.
      Hodgson’s second stint began with a 2-1 win over Leicester, continued with a swaggering 5-1 victory at Elland Road, and extended with a comfortable 2-0 win away to Southampton on Saturday.
      Eberechi Eze (£3m) scored both the visitors’ goals at St Mary’s to claim the Star Man award and bank 18 points in one fell swoop.
      It was the 24-year-old’s biggest haul of the Dream Team campaign and confirmation of the midfielder’s uplift since the change in dugout personnel.
      Eze has 92 points overall
      Eze has now produced 33 points in three games under Hodgson, whereas he mustered just nine from his last 13 appearances for Vieira.
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      This prosperous little run has featured three goals and two Star Man awards, making him one of the most in-form assets in the game over the last three Game Weeks.
      At the time of writing, the ex-QPR man is the best-performing midfielder of Game Week 30 – he’s five points clear of Martin Odegaard (£3.8m) and Harry Wilson (£1.7m).
      A talented dribbler, Eze has registered over a third of his total points since Hodgson’s return and if Palace are going to keep playing their way to mid-table safety will such panache then more than a few Dream Team bosses may feel he’s worth a punt.
      A man in sparkling formCredit: GETTY
      Eze features in just 0.7% of teams right now and is therefore a massive differential option.
      And he can’t have asked for more friendly fixtures, he faces Everton, Wolves and West Ham before the end of the month which will make it six consecutive games against teams below Palace in the table. More

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      Marcel Sabitzer & Ruben Dias feature in the best Dream Team XI of Game Week 29

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      A ROUND of applause for Alistair Woodward, Dream Team’s outright most prosperous gaffer of Game Week 29.The Notts County supporters racked up 124 points this past week thanks to a host of Manchester-based players.
      Let’s take a closer look at how he topped the pile…
      Harry Kane will have to work on his Mancunian accentCredit: DREAM TEAM
      Ederson (£4.8m), Nathan Ake (£4.9m) and Ruben Dias (£6.6m) all registered eight points each against Bayern Munich having missed out against Southampton because of Sekou Mara’s (£1.5m) consolation goal.
      Tuesday night’s Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Etihad was just the second time the Bundesliga champions have failed to score in a game this season – an indication that it’s a good time to back Manchester City defenders.
      Their Portuguese centre-back has been in particularly great form of late and now finds himself eighth in the rankings among assets in his position.
      Dias’ quality comes at a price though, at £6.6m he’s far by and away the most-expensive defender in the game.
      Lisandro Martinez (£4.7m) is now joint-second among defenders having taken Everton for eight points, despite taking a minus one hit at home to Sevilla on Thursday night.
      However, the World Cup winner’s hopes of maintaining the silver medal were dealt a blow when he was carried off the pitch (by opposition players for some reason) with what could be a significant injury.
      A commanding presenceCredit: GETTY
      Alistair has correctly identified that Jack Grealish (£4.7m) is currently the best City midfielder to accompany Kevin De Bruyne (£8.1m).
      Most read in Football
      Now providing regular goals and assists, the England international was the joint-best performer in his position this week having registered 18 points.
      Grealish has now amassed 61 points across the last eight Game Weeks – Alistair is among the 8.4% of gaffers who have benefited from this fruitful spree.
      As for KDB, he notched ten points to become just the second double centurion midfielder this term.
      Bruno Fernandes (£6.4m) was the first and he moved onto 209 overall thanks to a seven-point haul in Game Week 29.
      Alistair’s ace up the sleeve was undoubtedly Marcel Sabitzer (£3m) – a man who appears in just 0.2% of teams!
      The Austrian delivered by far his best performance in a Manchester United shirt yet when he bagged a brace against Sevilla in midweek.
      Limited in some technical aspects, the loanee 29-year-old is a good runner and shooter – attributes he used to great effect against the La Liga outfit to bank 18 points.
      An ownership of just 0.2%
      Up front, it’s a familiar trio and quite possibly the most-popular combination in the game currently.
      Although that may change now Marcus Rashford (£7.1m) is likely to miss some games (how many is not yet known) having picked up an injury – he added five points to his tally in Game Week 29.
      Harry Kane (£8.5m) scored his 25th goal of the season last weekend against Brighton – a tally that would be mightily impressive if it wasn’t for Erling Haaland’s (£9.6m) freakish figure of 45 – and he picked up the Star Man award too for lovely 13-point haul against difficult opposition.
      Read More on The Sun
      Man City’s No9 now has 366 points to his name after taking Southampton and Bayern for 22, which would be the biggest Game Week haul of the campaign for the vast majority of players but is almost par for the course for the Norwegian, such is his pedigree.
      Great work, Alistair, that Sabizter shout has to go down as one of the great masterstrokes of the season! More

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      7 damning Dream Team stats that underline Chelsea’s struggles this season

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      “WE didn’t know Real Madrid were that good.”Those were the words of Frank Lampard after Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to Los Blancos (14 times European Cup winners, by the way) at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
      The Blues were outclassed by unknown players such as Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior – who experts claim have actually won the Champions League before believe it or not – and they now face an uphill task to make it to the semi-finals of Europe’s premier competition.
      Lampard’s questionable comment is indicative of his beloved club’s season as a whole in many ways: disorganised, ill-prepared, frustrating.
      Certainly Dream Team gaffers have been persistently annoyed by Chelsea players this term – Stamford Bridge is usually a reliable source of plentiful returns but their assets, particularly the attack-minded ones, have disappointed.
      To illustrate the point, we’ve compiled seven damning stats that underline the Blues’ campaign.
      1. Just two Chelsea players have reached 100 points
      Havertz has blown hot and cold for ChelseaCredit: GETTY
      Thiago Silva (£5.7m) can hold his head high as he was permanently among Dream Team’s best defenders before his injury and his tally of 104 points remains the 13th highest among defenders.
      Kai Havertz (£3.9m) has mustered 102 points which, while respectable, could actually be seen as below par given the chances he’s squandered in recent months.
      And that’s it as far as centurions go for the west London club.
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      In contrast, Manchester City have nine players on 100+ points – struggling West Ham have as many centurions as Chelsea at this late stage of the season.
      2. Chelsea’s best-performing midfielder is below Morgan Gibbs-White, Fred and Harvey Elliott in the rankings
      Raheem Sterling (£4m) is the top performer in his position among his team-mates with 62 points but that total, a far cry from the mammoth returns he registered in a Man City shirt, only puts him 42nd overall among midfielders.
      What’s most concerning for the Stamford Bridge faithful is how dramatically the England winger has fallen off as the campaign has progressed.
      Sterling racked up 40 of his 62 points by the end of Game Week 8.
      Sterling started well but his returns have fallen off a cliffCredit: GETTY
      3. 17 points is enough to make Enzo Fernandez (£2.8m) Chelsea’s third-best midfielder
      To further underline Chelsea’s issues in the middle of the park, the Argentina international, a January signing, is the third-best midfielder in the squad with just 17 points.
      Fernandez has been one of his side’s better players since the turn of the year and, in fairness, it’s not his primary role to provide attacking contributions.
      Conor Gallagher (£1.5m), Mateo Kovacic (£2m), Ruben Lofus-Cheek (£1.2m), N’Golo Kante (£2.9m), Christian Pulisic (£2m), Hakim Ziyech (£2.2m) and Mykhailo Mudryk (£2.7m) have combined for just 76 points, two fewer than Ivan Perisic (£3.5m) who has hardly lit up the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
      4. Chelsea’s five forwards combined have just one more point than Ivan Toney (£6.1m) has managed solo
      The Blues’ defence has held up fine in general but they’ve desperately struggled to convert possession into goals.
      Chelsea’s entire forward line – Havertz, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£3.6m), Joao Felix (£3.6m), Armando Broja (£1.9m), David Fofana (£1.8m) – have mustered 169 points as a collective which is just one more than Brentford’s top scorer has amassed on his own.
      Granted, Toney has enjoyed a prosperous campaign but it wasn’t that long ago that having Felix, Aubameyang and Havertz in the same team was purely the stuff of Football Manager fantasy.
      The Aubameyang punt has not paid offCredit: GETTY
      5. Mason Mount (£3m) averages fewer points-per-game than Adam Lallana, Vitaly Janelt and Alex Iwobi
      Chelsea’s attacking problems can’t be pinned on one man alone but Mount’s severe dip must be noted.
      The England midfielder was one of only three men to reach double figures for both goals and assists in the Premier League last season but with just six weeks to go of the 2022/23 campaign he’s registered just three goals and two assists.
      The 24-year-old was one of the first names on the team sheet for both club and country not long ago but he’s now being tipped for a transfer and he’s certainly dropped down Gareth Southgate’s pecking order too.
      6. Chelsea have scored ten fewer Premier League goals than Leeds and eleven fewer than Leicester this season
      This simply underlines the attacking problems further.
      Chelsea have conceded fewer league goals than Man United, Spurs and Brighton but their miserly nature in defence has been undermined by wastefulness in the final third.
      The extent of this problem is best highlighted by the fact they’re not even in the same bracket as Leeds and Leicester, two relegation candidates, in terms of goals scored.
      Mount has been a Dream Team favourite in previous yearsCredit: GETTY
      7. Erling Haaland has scored 36 goals more than Chelsea’s top scorer this season
      Most people would have predicted the predatory Norway international would outscore Chelsea’s top scorer but 36 goals is a laughably wide margin.
      Read More on The Sun
      Havertz tops the charts at Stamford Bridge with just nine goals in all competitions, not even in the same universe as Haaland’s incredible tally of 45.
      In fact, Man City’s No9 has scored 30 league goals, one more than Chelsea’s 29. More

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      How many points-per-game does Erling Haaland need to break Cristiano Ronaldo’s Dream Team season record?

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      HERE at Dream Team HQ we have long abandoned the pretence that Erling Haaland (£9.3m) faces any credible competition in the realm of Dream Team this season.Marcus Rashford (£6.8m) threatened to make it a two-horse race briefly but Manchester City’s No9 seemed to take that notion personally and he’s since opened up a 92-point lead over his cross-town rival at the top of the rankings.
      And so, in search of tension in relation to the Norwegian’s exploits, we’ve been forced to consult the history books.
      Cristiano Ronaldo holds the all-time record for most points in a single campaign – the Portuguese superstar amassed a whopping 477 points in 2007/08.
      In fact, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is the only man to ever register 400+ points.
      A memorable campaignCredit: GETTY
      A quadruple century looks a formality for Haaland at this stage.
      The 22-year-old added a further 22 points to his tally this Game Week at the expense of Southampton and Bayern Munich.
      A brace against Saints returned 12 points while a goal and assist versus the Bavarian giants produced ten more.
      Haaland has banked 83 points in his last four outings, which is incredible even by his standards.
      With 366 points to his name, he’s 34 shy of becoming just the second player ever to rack up 400 in a season – only an significant injury in the next few days will deny him that taste of history.
      Most read in Football
      Whether he can overhaul Ronaldo’s imposing record is another matter and his chances may hinge on City’s progression in the Champions League and FA Cup.
      On the prowlCredit: GETTY
      If Pep Guardiola’s side were to combust in Munich and give up their three-goal aggregate lead before suffering a shock defeat to Sheffield United at Wembley – a severely unlikely double – then Haaland would be have ten games remaining from this point.
      He would therefore need to average 11.1 points-per-game to make up the 111 needed to level Ronaldo’s total – not beyond Haaland but a tough ask.
      For reference, he averages 9.6 points-per-game in 2022/23 to date.
      Assuming City convert their significant advantage over Bayern and qualify for the semi-finals before getting past the Blades, Haaland would have 13 games at his disposal.
      City’s prolific poacher would therefore need to average 8.54 points-per-game to claim the record – very achievable.
      Haaland has scored 45 goals in all competitions this seasonCredit: GETTY
      Now let’s say Guardiola’s men reach the Champions League final as well as the FA Cup final, that would give Haaland 14 fixtures, which would allow for an average of 7.93 points-per-game to topple Ronaldo.
      These scenarios assume Haaland will start every available game which may not be the case – it wouldn’t be that surprising if Julian Alvarez (£4.2m) led the line in the FA Cup semi-final, for example.
      Read More on The Sun
      But with City chasing a treble, their top scorer is assured the vast majority of minutes if fit.
      Ronaldo’s record, which once looked unassailable, is very much under threat. More

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      A midfielder who gets clean sheet points? John Stones is a Dream Team cheat code right now

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      PEP GUARDIOLA has an abundance of talent at his disposal but nobody could accuse Manchester City’s mastermind of shirking his duties from a tactical standpoint.Whereas plenty of managers would have been reluctant to change anything about a set-up that puts trophies in the cabinet, the 52-year-old Spaniard is forever adapting his approach.
      This season, City have often shaped up in a 3-2-4-1 (or 3-2-3-2) formation with a defender joining Rodri (£3.8m) at the base of midfield to provide build-up play.
      The man occupying this hybrid role currently is John Stones (£5.5m).
      Stones excelled against Bayern Munich
      As a natural ball-playing centre-back, the England international has the necessary technical attributes required to play further up field and of course his tackling, tracking and aerial prowess adds plenty of steel to the midfield.
      Stones fulfilled the role superbly once again on Tuesday night as City sent out a message to all their Champions League rivals with a 3-0 win over Bayern Munich at the Etihad in their quarter-final first leg.
      It’s one thing filling in for a Premier League game in which City will dominate weaker opposition for the game’s duration but another thing entirely to excel against the likes of Jamal Musiala, Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich.
      Dream Team gaffers would have already considered Stones as a viable option but his reformed role has made him particularly appealing.
      Right now, the 28-year-old is essentially a midfielder who also gets clean sheet points – a Dream Team trick of sorts.
      And because he’s occupying more advanced positions, he’s more likely to register goal contributions, as he did against the German giants when his header back across goal was slotted home by Erling Haaland (£9.3m).
      Most read in Football
      Granted, direct goal involvements are still relatively rare but the mere acts of creating chances and getting shots off will also boost his match ratings (most of the time).
      The hybrid role has suited Stones so farCredit: GETTY
      Since returning to the team, Stones has produced 25 points at an average of 6.25 per Game Week – he currently appears in just 1.7% of teams.
      More generally, it feels like a great time to back City defenders – Tuesday night’s game was just the second time Bayern have failed to score this season.
      Ruben Dias (£6.4m) has been excellent of late, as has Nathan Ake (£4.6m), while Manuel Akanji (£4.4m) continues to rack up minutes on the pitch.
      City host struggling Leicester this weekend before the second leg against Bayern next Wednesday – a favourable FA Cup semi-final draw against Championship side Sheffield United also looks ripe for healthy returns. More

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      Lisandro Martinez latest player to claim second place in Dream Team’s defensive rankings – transfer time?

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      THE race for top spot among Dream Team defenders this season has been over for a while now.With 213 points to his name, Kieran Trippier (£5.9m) is simply fulfilling his procession at the back end of what has been a miraculous campaign.
      The scrap for second place, however, could scarcely be more competitive.
      Lisandro Martinez (£4.8m) is the latest name to appear immediately below the Newcastle right-back’s in the rankings as the World Cup winner leapt above Ben White (£4.8m) and Fabian Schar (£3.9m) with an eight-point haul at home to Everton on Saturday.
      Martinez has proved to be a good signing for Man United
      The Manchester United centre-back was subjected to harsh criticism during the embryonic stage of his Premier League career having been given a torrid time in that now infamous 4-0 drubbing at Brentford.
      Since then, his critics have generally either been silenced or converted.
      Martinez has been one of the Premier League’s most impressive defenders this season having proved that combativeness, positioning and timing can make up for a couple of lost inches in height.
      How many Dream Team gaffers would have tipped him to reach 140 points by Game Week 29 after that disasterclass at the Gtech Community Stadium?
      Newcastle and Arsenal’s failure to keep their sheets clean at the weekend cast Martinez’s eight-point return at the expense of the Toffees in an even more favourable light.
      Team-mate Luke Shaw (£4.6m) was recently runner-up among defenders but he too lost some ground having been sidelined with an injury.
      Most read in Football
      Comfortably Dream Team’s best defender this seasonCredit: GETTY
      TOP TEN DREAM TEAM DEFENDERS 2022/23

      Kieran Trippier – 213 points
      Lisandro Martinez – 140 points
      Fabian Schar – 139 points
      Ben White – 134 points
      Gabriel – 133 points
      Luke Shaw – 131 points
      Dan Burn – 123 points
      Diogo Dalot – 118 points
      Trent Alexander-Arnold – 116 points
      Ruben Dias – 114 points

      The race to finish second promises to go down to the wire but Martinez has a great chance of clinging onto the silver medal because of the additional fixtures at his disposal.
      Whereas the Gunners and the Magpies have nothing but league commitments to fulfil from here on out, Erik ten Hag’s side are pursuing glory in the Europa League and the FA Cup while simultaneously hoping to finish in the top four.
      Martinez is likely to feature against Sevilla on Thursday night as the Red Devils welcome the Europa League specialists to Old Trafford for the first leg of their quarter-final tie.
      In fact, while the likes of Schar and White have a maximum of four fixtures remaining this month, Martinez could play as many as six in the same time frame.
      140 points and countingCredit: GETTY
      There’s always a chance the additional fixtures could backfire as it’s far from guaranteed Man United will repel the La Liga side over two legs and Brighton’s dynamic attack will throw plenty at their opponents at Wembley on April 23rd.
      As a general rule though, the more fixtures a Dream Team asset has to work with the more points they register.
      Martinez currently features in 13.2% of teams. More

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      Could Jack Grealish be the man to decide Dream Team mini-leagues as the season reaches its climax?

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      IT’S generally accepted that most attacking players need at least a few months to adapt to Pep Guardiola’s specific requirements.This is particularly true of individualistic talents who essentially had free rein at their previous club.
      It’s no wonder then, that Manchester City supporters are only now seeing the best of Jack Grealish (£4.1m) since his move from Aston Villa in the summer of 2021.
      The 27-year-old had arguably his best game yet in a sky-blue shirt at the weekend when he assisted one goal and scored another as the Citizens came from behind to beat Liverpool 4-1 at the Etihad.
      Grealish’s probing dribbles caused all kinds of problems for the Reds, not least Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.3m) who looked all at sea against his compatriot.
      In the groove
      A £100million price tag was always going to weigh heavy on a player who operated in the Championship just two years prior to the record-breaking transfer and he copped plenty of criticism last season for not hitting the ground running.
      However, like Leroy Sane, Joao Cancelo, Rodri (£3.8m) and a few others before him, something has clicked in Grealish and he’s now able to harness his natural attributes in a way that suits Guardiola’s grand plan.
      Since returning from the World Cup, he’s provided five assists and scored three goals in 14 Premier League appearances.
      Naturally, this surge in goal involvements has resulted in healthy Dream Team returns.
      A ten-point return at Liverpool’s expense – his second double-digit haul of the campaign – means that Grealish has produced 50 points across the last nine Game Weeks.
      Most read in Football
      He’s now level with James Maddison (£5.6m) on 97 points overall, though it’s worth noting the Leicester playmaker has played far fewer games this term.
      Grealish has been all smiles of lateCredit: GETTY
      Incredibly, Grealish is just the fifth-best midfielder among his team-mates as Rodri, Riyad Mahrez (£6.1m), Phil Foden (£5.1m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£7.7m) are all on 100+ points at this stage.
      The brilliant Belgian remains the best option for Dream Team gaffers keen on a Man City midfielder (as all should be) but his points come at a significant cost – he’s the most-expensive asset in his position by a wide margin.
      With Mahrez also a costly recruit and Foden sidelined while he recovers from having his appendix removed, the in-form Grealish may be a popular man once April’s allotment of transfers are available from Friday morning.
      There are certainly worse strategies than doubling up on City midfielders this month with Guardiola’s men active in the Champions League and FA Cup as well as the bread and butter of the Premier League.
      A two-legged affair with Bayern Munich will be hotly contested and Arsenal’s visit to the Etihad towards the end of April could decide the league title but it’s a favourable set of fixtures elsewhere: Southampton, Leicester, Sheffield United, Fulham.
      Experienced Dream Team managers will remember that an in-form Grealish is a force to be reckoned with… More